Defoe's demand; Spurs hit man wants a pay rise from Jol FA CUP Tottenham Hotspur 3 West Bromwich Albion 1.

Byline: ADRIAN CURTIS

JERMAIN Defoe provided Tottenham with two more reasons why they should redouble their efforts to reward the England striker with a new contract.

Coach Martin Jol revealed Spurs are in no hurry to hand the former West Ham striker a new deal despite his 19-goal haul this season.

Defoe wants to renegotiate the terms of his contract with a wage increase that reflects his growing stature as a regular England international.

He joined the Londoners in January 2004 on a five-year deal but his success at White Hart Lane has catapulted him into Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad.

Defoe has since been linked with a move to Chelsea even though Blues boss Jose Mourinho made no attempt to land the player during last month's transfer window.

Jol was delighted with another two-goal return from Defoe as Spurs fought back from Kanu's 11th-minute headed opener to overcome West Brom 3-1 in their FA Cup fourth-round replay.

Robbie Keane levelled the score just before interval from the penalty spot but Defoe sealed a fifth round home tie against Nottingham Forest with two goals in six minutes in the second half.

However, Jol says there is no need to rush contract negotiations with Defoe while the player still has another four years left on his current agreement.

Jol said: ``Jermain is enjoying it here. He has said to us that money is not the main thing in life. He is enjoying life and enjoying training, so it is not the main priority.

``But it is always nice to have good wages. That must be important for him as well but I don't think it is a main issue.

``He has four years left on his contract so it is no problem. ''

After a largely anonymous first half, Defoe sprang to life after the break as Jol replaced Keane with Simon Davies and reverted to a 4-4-2 formation.

Keane had been playing behind Fredi Kanoute and Defoe in the opening period but looked distinctly unhappy in such a system.

Defoe fired Spurs into the lead in the 48th minute with a stunning right-foot shot from Michael Carrick's free-kick and then added a third for Spurs when he blasted home Kanoute's low cross from six yards.

Defoe's emergence as an England international comes as no surprise to his former West Ham team-mate Carrick. He believes Defoe has taken his game onto another level.

He said: ``It is great playing with Jermain again. You don't really need to give him a chance because he creates them for himself.

``He has definitely got better since he came to Tottenham. As soon as I signed for the club I noticed there was a definite change in him.

``Yes, he was a great player at West Ham but now when you see him in training, he has taken his game onto another level.

``He has always been a good finisher and always scored goals. But he offers a lot more now and that is why he is carving out an England career.

``He has been banging in the goals alongside Fredi and Robbie which has been a real boost. We are very fortunate at Spurs to have three strikers of that calibre all lining to get goals for us. ''

Having them at the club is one thing, but keeping them all happy is another as Jol already knows.

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Robbie Keane celebrates his penalty spot opener Picture: PA